Pardee Foundation presents $1 million to Pardee Hospital

Wednesday

Apr 17, 2013 at 7:57 PM

Special to the Times-News

Pardee Hospital Foundation presented a check for $1 million to Pardee Hospital on Wednesday, April 17, at the Cedars of Hendersonville in honor and celebration of its 60 years of continued health care services to Henderson County and the surrounding areas.When the foundation was established in 1996, Pardee Hospital invested $1 million to assist in their efforts to run a charitable foundation that could make a difference in the health care needs of the community. "With this generous investment, we began to realize interest income, and we began to raise money with the help of so many people in this room," said Dr. Colin Thomas, founding member of Pardee Hospital Foundation. "I had no idea when we stared this conversation 18 years ago that we would have raised millions of dollars and services for thousands of people at Pardee Hospital." The foundation and Pardee have worked in partnership over the past 18 years to raise money to pay for capital purchases, renovations and specials needs of the hospital. The foundation has given $20 million to Pardee for initiatives, construction and capital projects including:• $1.1 million in 1997 for nursing facility and hospice house.• $5.1 million for emergency department renovations.• $2.3 million for surgery expansion.• $600,000 for renovations for orthopedic center.• 10,000 women who have benefitted from free mammograms through Women Helping Women.“The time is right for us to celebrate Pardee's 60th anniversary and return the initial $1 million they invested in us as we were getting started in the community,” Ryan Harman, president of Pardee Hospital Foundation Board, said during the check presentation.

“To our donors here tonight, we could not have done this without your help over the years – your gifts have helped us grow our portfolio and make significant contributions to Pardee Hospital. Your investment in us and your partnership with us has been a vital element in our success over the years and we are proud to make this donation back to the hospital leadership.”